JAX Chamber members excited about Landing redevelopment proposal

Among the hot topics at the JAX Chamber’s annual meeting Thursday will be the ambitious proposal to tear down and redevelop The Jacksonville Landing.

That idea is indicative, chamber officials say, of a new sense of action and momentum in the city — a focus of the group’s 129th annual meeting.

“People are excited,” said chamber spokesman Dan Dawson. “There are always great ideas floating around. Now we’re starting to see real dollars being allocated to projects that are going to broaden the attraction of businesses.”

The chamber will also get to show off its new digs.

The $3.5 million renovation of the Independent Drive headquarters, which the chamber called “Downtown’s New Front Door,” is complete. The work was paid for through a fundraising drive rather than member dues or money from its operating budget.

Dawson said the floor plan is “very open” and has an “international feel” designed to be more inviting to business owners and serve as an effective recruiting tool.

The annual meeting will also feature drinks and food from 14 local restaurants, live music, street performances, a cigar lounge, fireworks show and more.

“Our annual meeting is an ideal time to bring the business community together and celebrate the many successes within the JAX region over the past year,” said JAX Chamber President and CEO Daniel Davis. “We are excited to welcome a new year and a new era at the chamber, and I encourage everyone to attend.”

To register, call (904) 366-6600, ext. 7790, or email events@myjaxchamber.com. Individual tickets are $55 for members or $70 for non-members.

The Chamber is always excited about the city leadership bowing down and spending tax payer money at their beck and call.

Our city government has lost its leadership control and no longer controls the future of this city according to what the population wants and needs. "The People" that put them in the seats of power to work on their behalf truly have no voice. But The People surley do get the Bill to pay for the demands of self imposed city agencys.

The Chamber deliberately causes political disorder and confusion playing the Mayor against the city council instilling the absence of any cohesiveness toward principle, or a common standard or purpose.